The local magistrate lifts one hand, and the townspeople withdraw from the hall. The reeve remains beside Timothy, while the heavy chain stays secured to the cangue.
The Local Magistrate
Clear the doorway. Only the reeve and the official witnesses remain. This hearing will not be shaped by a crowd’s anger.
The last villagers pass beyond the oak doors, leaving the hall quiet. The reeve checks the chain’s fastening without loosening it, and the official witnesses take their places along the wall.
The magistrate opens her ledger beside the cangue. As the timber shifts against Timothy’s shoulder, the scrape beneath it flares, but the chain and lock remain unchanged.
The Local Magistrate
You called yourself a dangerous scoundrel. Explain your conduct plainly, without the protection of spectators or the pressure of a shouting street.
The Reeve
I will record each admission as spoken. The restraint remains secure while the magistrate decides whether your claimed nature requires it.
The magistrate studies Timothy over the open ledger, weighing the confession already given against the injured shoulder, the fixed cangue, and the reeve’s careful custody. Then she waits for his answer.